Objective: Despite the frequency of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in patients with acute agitation in emergency departments (EDs), there are few data about the use of intramuscular (IM) psychotropics in those patients. This is the first open-label study with olanzapine in this setting.
Method: Measures were collected prospectively for patients with acute agitation in ED. Consent was obtained subsequently and diagnosis ascertained using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. A group of 25 patients with severe agitation and BPD received olanzapine 10 mg IM. Efficacy and safety data are available at baseline, 2 h postinjection and at discharge.
Results: Significant reductions of agitation associated with good tolerance were observed 2 h after the first IM olanzapine. Sixteen percent of patients required a second IM olanzapine.
Conclusions: Randomized, placebo-controlled studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of IM olanzapine in patients with acute agitation and BPD.